Three new temples in the United States’ Midwest have been announced during general conferences of the Church in 2023 or so far in 2024
Springfield, Missouri, was among the 15 new temple locations listed Sunday, April 2, 2023, by President Russell M. Nelson at the close of the 192nd Annual General Conference. A year later, at the close of the 194th Annual General Conference, President Nelson again announced plans for 15 more temples, including for Des Moines, Iowa, and Cincinnati, Ohio.
In between, during the October 2023 general conference, he announced plans for 20 temples, although none in the Midwest.
The Springfield temple will be built in the southeast part of that city; the Cincinnati temple will be built in Mason, Ohio, a northeast suburb of Cincinnati; the Des Moines temple will be in Johnston, Iowa, in northwest metro Des Moines. No groundbreaking date has been announced for any of the three temples.
Springfield Missouri Temple
• 3rd temple in Missouri. The 1st was the St. Louis Missouri Temple, dedicated in 1997, followed by the Kansas City Missouri Temple, in 2012.
• Springfield is the state’s 3rd largest city, behind Kansas City and St. Louis. With a population of 170,188, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2023 estimates, and a metro area with 491,053 people, the area is one of the most populous in the Ozark region.
• There are 2 stakes in Springfield, 2 others in southwest Missouri and 2 in south-central Missouri. The 1st was organized in 1973. Statewide there are 80,440 Church members in 19 stakes.
* The area is in the current Bentonville Arkansas Temple district, which comprises 8 stakes. The Bentonville temple is 125 miles southwest of Springfield. Other neighboring temples are in Kansas City (175 miles north) and St. Louis (210 miles northeast).
Cincinnati Ohio Temple
• 3rd temple in Ohio. The Columbus Ohio Temple was dedicated in 1999; ground was broken in June 2024 for the Cleveland Ohio Temple. The Church’s 1st temple was in Kirtland, Ohio, dedicated in 1836; that building is now a historic site and open to the public for tours.
* Cincinnati is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Ohio, behind Cleveland and Columbus. Metropolitan Cincinnati, which includes portions of northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana, has almost 2.3 million residents.
• There are 3 stakes in metropolitan Cincinnati and 3 stakes in the Dayton area north of Cincinnati. The 1st Cincinnati stake was organized in 1958. Ohio has 64,595 Church members in 15 stakes.
• Southwest Ohio is currently split between the temple districts of the the Columbus Ohio Temple (90 miles to the northeast) and the Louisville Kentucky Temple (105 miles southwest). The Columbus temple district has 18 stakes and Louisville temple district 9 stakes. Another neighboring temple is the Indianapolis Indiana Temple (130 miles to the northwest).
Des Moines Iowa Temple
• 1st temple in Iowa.
* Des Moines is the capital city and largest city in Iowa. The city population is 210,381, according to U.S. Census Bureau 2023 estimates, and has a metro area of 917,964 residents.
• 2 stakes in Des Moines and 1 in nearby Ames. The 1st stake in Des Moines was organized in 1970. In all of Iowa there are 29,285 Church members in 8 stakes.
• Des Moines is currently in the district of the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple (135 miles to the west). The next closest temples are Kansas City Missouri (180 miles south) and Nauvoo Illinois (195 miles southeast).
